五毛党 the Party of Fifty Cents

Fifty cents in the US is a rap group. Well, the Party of Fifty Cents in China was born with the heavy internet censorship. Apparently, there are hired hands in China, posting pro-government comments on people's blogs and websites. Each "valid" entry is paid fifty cents of RMB, equivalent to about 7 cents US.

Then I was told by my friend in China, about hired fans. For example, if you are competing at the Chinese version of the Idol, you can hire a fan. A fan screaming "I love you" is paid 100 Yuan. A fan screaming with tears streaming down is paid 300 Yuan. Isn't it fascinating? Last October in Shanghai Airport, I witnessed hundreds of girls rushing in with one of the Super Junior. The skinny kid with dark masks was protected by several bouncers. How many of them were true fans without pay?

Obama's Accent and Palin's Face

Obama's mother is White, the wholesome White girl from midwest. His birth father is an African from Kenya. From socializing with my friends from Africa, I gathered that it is likely the father had an African accent. The parents divorced when he was three years old. He lived with his mother and maternal side of the family during his childhood in Hawaii. He then went to Columbia and Harvard. Most of the people hang out in these places would not speak with a Black accent. Now I am wondering when and where he got his current accent.

Accent and speech pattern tell a lot about a person. Obama ought not have this African American accent while growing up. Did he acquire his accent during the time in Chicago when he became politically ambitious? Margret Thatcher took an elocution lesson to rid her not-so-posh Linclonshire accent. I enjoy analyzing politician's speech, noticing how they use words and phrase to attract certain audience.

Talking about giving speeches, Palin struck me by being catering towards the dumb. Larry commented on how much popular Palin would be if she had a face of Madeleine Albright or Janet Reno. It is a disgrace that in this politically correct society of ours, disqualified women are sometimes being plucked up to the position and get away from scrutiny by being pretty and cute.

Backcountry Ski in NC

It snowed again in the southeast. I drove to Cherohala Skyway and checked out the possibilities of backcountry ski there. I found a gated forest road after Mile Six post on the NC side. The crusty jeep road led to a bald at 5,000ft. The snow was even more crusty there, about half inch thick and I could walk on it without breaking through the crust. I made a few runs and practiced kick-turns both sides. I returned to my car at twilight.

A Week in Northest

On the Boxing day of 2009, I went to visit my friends in Ottawa. The next day, I drove to New Hampshire via Quebec and Vermont. I spent three days ice climbing and two days learning ski. A good way to start a new decade. Happy 2010!

States Visited

visited 39 states (78%)
Create your own visited map of The United States

Training chronicles

08/07/2009 Haw Ridge run 7 miles 83min
08/10/2009 bike to and from work
08/13/2009 SWA7 trail run 4.2 miles 49min

08/28/2009 H-H trail 17.5 min

08/30/2009 H-H trail 15'47" Yeah!

9/3/2009 SWA7 trail 44'20"

9/10/2009 road/trail run 6 miles 1h

11/1/2009 Point trail 20'49"

03/14/2010 Point trail ~19'00" (in rain with natural stride, celebrating the DST!)

Haw Ridge 7-Mile Trail Run

I got a note from Hiram announcing a trail run held on August the 7th. I was debating whether I should participate. It started at 5:30 pm Friday at Haw Ridge. Can I do it? I haven't trained for months.

It was a hot sunny day. The 7-mile course had a steep uphill start and wound through the woods. People passed me left and right. I was barely able to keep up. I was feeling hot at first several miles as I wore pants to ward off the poison ivy. Then I got the chill and worried about hitting the wall. Quitting was not an option I might as well keep going. The last three miles were not as bad. I was so glad that it was finally over, after 83 minutes. It was my first race after high school and the toughest. I ate watermelon and drank lots of fluid. But I could not take in much solid food other than a handful of cashew nuts that evening.